We've taken several trips to Europe on American Airlines awards: they've just started showing award availability on the smartphone app. Now we can casually think about the next trip on miles while looking at the phone. I'm reluctant to make big commitments while browsing the phone, but generally their awards allow putting a hold on for five days before completing a booking. There are improvements on the display: in the attached, you can see the code for the connecting airport and the money they charge on the award. For AA's own flights, they generally just charge the taxes; on partners, there's typically a carrier surcharge. On the attached, I'm not sure if the surcharges over $350 are an opening-day hiccup, since those appear to be on AA flights. The charges are out of sight for British Airways flights and more reasonable on Iberia.
I'm also getting Iberia Avios points with a new credit card, so these airline partners are bookable across programs with some different rules. The attached is on a search for Boston-Rome. I rather like AA on the outbound and Iberia on the return, so that the longer flight ends at the destination and there isn't a short flight after border formalities and a new security check. We're considering options including one of us going on an award and the other on a paid trip, and I'm not sure what questions to formulate now, other than: what do people think about Iberia transatlantic service?
I'm also getting Iberia Avios points with a new credit card, so these airline partners are bookable across programs with some different rules. The attached is on a search for Boston-Rome. I rather like AA on the outbound and Iberia on the return, so that the longer flight ends at the destination and there isn't a short flight after border formalities and a new security check. We're considering options including one of us going on an award and the other on a paid trip, and I'm not sure what questions to formulate now, other than: what do people think about Iberia transatlantic service?
